The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OSUN

  • More questions as Oyo, Osun resolve LAUTECH ownership crisis

    More questions as Oyo, Osun resolve LAUTECH ownership crisis

     Oyo and Osun states have agreed to sustain their joint ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso. But many questions still agitate the minds of stakeholders in the area of funding. BISI OLADELE writes that while Osun State is accused of owing 15 months subvention, the recent decision of the Oyo State Government to reduce subvention to its tertiary institutions by 75 per cent may complicate the uncertainty of funding for the 26-year-old institution 

    The agreement reached by Oyo and Osun state governments in Ibadan on Wednesday to sustain joint ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso came as a soothing balm for many stakeholders.

    The latest decision is expected to ease agitations by indigenes of Ogbomoso and many others in Oyo State for Osun State to cede the institution to Oyo for sole ownership.

    But some stakeholders are unsure if the mere pronouncement of the decision will placate the striking workers who are protesting non-payment of salaries as well as indigenes who believe that the joint ownership structure will continue to jeopardise efficiency at LAUTECH.

    The Oyo State Government had, last month, announced its decision to slash subventions to its tertiary institutions by 75 per cent. The decision came as a blow to some key players in the higher education sector.

    The government, in a letter dated September 20, informed chief executives of the institutions that no institution should expect subvention either in arrears or in the future.

    Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, in an interaction with reporters at the Ajayi Crowther University (ACU), Oyo, said the decision was necessitated by the current financial constraints, need to plug loopholes and stimulate creativity in managers of the institutions.

    According to him, the government would continue to support the institutions with 25 per cent subventions as a sign of its commitment to their well-being.

    His words: “The country is experiencing dwindling oil revenue which has affected virtually all aspects of our socio-economic life and we are unable to really cope.

    “Education is participatory. It is not for the government alone or for the government alone to pay for education. We believe that parents, teachers and everybody must participate…Nigerians must contribute to education and the development of our children.”

    He also pointed out that managers of the institutions need to work hard to plug leakages and be creative in serving their communities.

    “We have not cancelled subventions completely. We have reduced it from 100 per cent to 25 per cent.

    “Education is not absolutely free. Nothing is absolutely free.”

    The decision came at a time when agitations by indigenes of the host town, Ogbomoso, for sole ownership of LAUTECH by Oyo State were high.

    Their agitations were based on the alleged failure of the Osun State Government to fulfill its financial obligations to the institution.

    The indigenes posited that the problem has constantly led to the inability of LAUTECH to pay salaries regularly thereby leading to workers’ strikes and obstruction of school calendar. The students, they claim, bear the consequence even as the quality of teaching and learning in such an environment becomes questionable.

    Leading the agitation was the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi, who, in newspaper advertorial, advanced reasons why Osun State should cede full ownership of the institution to Oyo State.

    Members of the apex socio-cultural organisation in the town, Ogbomoso Parapo, also staged a protest against the decay at LAUTECH owing to alleged failure of Osun State to meet its financial obligations.

    To crown the agitation, on September 22, some members of the Oyo State House of Assembly moved a motion seeking full ownership of the institution by Oyo State.

    The motion was sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ogbomoso North, Olawumi Oladeji and nine other lawmakers.

    In the  motion entitled: “Reviewing the Joint Ownership of LAUTECH: A Step Towards Sole Ownership by Oyo State Government,” Oladeji noted that the Oyo State Government has been trying its best to ensure sustainability of the high standard of education which the university is known for through its commitment to fulfilling its own part of the financial obligations.

    “We are concerned about the persistent crisis in the university due to default in payment of salaries of members of staff of the university as and when due. Cumulatively, Osun State Government owes 15 months’ arrears of salaries of members of staff as at September this year.

    “Consequent upon this, members of staff of the university had embarked on an indefinite strike which has paralysed all activities in the university. It should be noted that if the industrial action  persists for too long, it may spell doom for the existence and growth of the university,” she said.

    The motion reads in part: “That Oyo State Government should demonstrate and be concerned about the sole ownership of the university since the Government of Osun State has consistently failed to honour its own financial obligation.

    “In view of the fact that Osun State cannot meet up with its obligations as regards the sustenance of the university, the House should urge it to hands off from the running of the university and allow Oyo State Government to take sole ownership.”

    In his submission, the Speaker Hon. Michael Adeyemo, said the House needed to revisit the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two states and which was passed into law on October 23, 2010.

    However, the alumni association of LAUTECH condemned the agitations, saying they (agitations) were against the spirit of brotherliness that was the foundation for the joint ownership.

    In a September 24 statement signed by its National President, Jide Bewaji, the association said the Assembly should have lent its voice to that of those calling for the resolution of the crisis that has engulfed the institution.

    As divergent positions by stakeholders raged, thugs allegedly invaded the university campus on September 27 and beat up some indigenes of Osun State who are members of staff.

    But the  Ogbomoso Parapo (home branch) dissociated itself from sponsoring any form of attack on members of staff of the institution.

    In a press release signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Messrs Saka Bello and Tunde Afolabi respectively, the organisation said:  “We state unequivocally that Ogbomoso Parapo (home branch) was not involved in the purported attack by thugs on members of staff of LAUTECH who are of Osun State origin as reported by some dailies recently. Neither was the association party to it nor sponsored any such thing.”

    According to the organisation, its involvement in the LAUTECH saga is not because the university is located in Ogbomoso but because of the overall interest of the university.

    “We state that our incessant outcry over the matter because of our genuine concern over the gradual decay being witnessed in the institution.

    “The university had been closed down since early June over matters connected with funding and non-payment of workers’ salaries. The strike is in its seven month,” it stated.

    But with the possibility of LAUTECH being ceded to Oyo State in the future, some stakeholders are already raising concern over funding, given the new decision by the state government to reduce subventions to 25 per cent.

    One of them is the Joint Action Forum of Academic Staff Union of Oyo State-owned tertiary institutions (JAFAS) which described government’s decision as unacceptable.

    JAFAS said the idea, which is being allegedly test-run at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), would certainly throw many students out of school due to high school fees.

    In a communique issued at the end of its meeting at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education (EACOED), Oyo, JAFAS called for reversal of the policy.

    The communique was signed by the chairmen and secretaries of the academic unions at LAUTECH, EACOED, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSATECH), Igbo-Ora, Ibarapa Polytechnic, Oke-Ogun Polytechnic and College of Education, Lanlate.

    It reads inter alia: “The position of the government on the stoppage of subventions to tertiary institutions is unacceptable.

    “That this ‘commodification’ of education is the surest way of producing an army of illiterates who are surely to be thrown out of schools as a result of their parents’ inability to pay school fees, which could be as high as 350,000 per student per session.

    “Members equally noted that the policy is a surreptitious sale of public institutions to private hands.”

    Reacting, the Oyo State Government described JAFAS’ statement as pre-emptive, stating that the government has not made policy pronouncements on some of the issues raised.

    The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, said the state government said reduction in subventions to tertiary institutions was discussed with the head of the institutions, stressing that the government is still consulting with them to achieve a seamless education calendar run for tertiary institutions.

    “Rather than going to the pages of newspapers to express displeasure on some of government actions in the education sector, JAFAS should have sent a memorandum to the Education Reform Committee when it called for such, instead of misleading the public about the contents of the yet-to-be-made-public report,” the government spokesman said.

    As the two governors have resolved the joint ownership crisis, what is the future of the institution with regard to funding? This and many more questions in the minds of students, members of staff and other stakeholders remain unanswered.

  • Osun School feeding scheme ‘boost to food security, jobs’

    The Osun State School Feeding scheme has been praised as an important strategy for food and nutrition security.

    Special Adviser, Zone A Affairs, Niger State, Alhaji Aliyu Takuma, stated this during a visit  to the state   andTUNS Farms Nigeria Limited, a poultry firm.

    He said the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O-MEALS), formerly Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP), had  brought  the much-needed change to youth/child empowerment.

    According to him, the programme offers guidance on how to design and implement large-scale sustainable school feeding that meets standards.

    Takuma said: “We thought that the programme is just the feeding of school children but today we have been exposed to the reality that the home-grown school feeding programme is a right step towards the change needed in youth empowerment which Osun State has been able to identify.”

    Takuma said if the programme was implemented across the country, it would transform the poultry industry and enable it to achieve its potential as a major source of revenue and employment creator.

    The Assistant General Manager, Admin, Research and Development, Mr. Taofeek Badmus, expressed gratitude to  Governor Rauf Aregbesola, for implementing the programme,  calling  on other governors to adopt it to enhance  their pupils’ nutrition  and  cognitive skills  while improving their academic performance.

    He reiterated the determination of TUNS Farm to make the programme a success and to assist other states interested in starting similar programmes.

    The Programme Officer, School Feeding Programme, Mrs. Ayoola Olubunmi, described the relationship with TUNS Farms as pleasant. She lauded the impact of the programme on the state, which include pupils’enrolment, job creation and women empowerment.

    “The programme, O-MEALS, was conceived with the major aim of feeding school children; however, it has helped increase school enrolment by a minimum of 25 per cent  since its commencement while also creating new jobs for the teeming youths in the state and boosting the local economy,” she said.

  • Osun launches middle school

    Osun launches middle school

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said his administration’s education policy has restored sanity to the public education system and erased superiority complex between private and public education.

    The governor spoke at the launch of Ojo/Aro Community Government Middle and High Schools in Egbedore Local Government.

    He said the newly built ultra-modern school was part of his government’s resolve to bring quality education to the residents of the state especially the rural dwellers.

    Aregbesola said his administration has positively impacted in the lives of the people of the state through the provision of functional and quality education across board.

    He held that N37million was expended by the state to complete construction and renovation of the school.

  • Osun, DFID to create markets for local products 

    Osun, DFID to create markets for local products 

    The Osun State Government yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Growth and Employment in States 4th scheme (GEMS4) towards creating markets for local products.

    Aregbesola, at the signing, said his administration was able to endure the harsh economic challenges because of the government’s huge investments in human development.

    GEMS4 is a Department For International Department-funded programme that will link and expand markets for unique wholesale and retail products from Osun into larger local and international markets.

    Under this scheme, local producers of black soap, local delicacies, mat makers, and other petty producers will be assisted to gain access to bigger markets for bigger economic opportunities.

    The governor said investment in the people helps the commerce and economy of states, as well as help in wealth creation.

    He said the MoU is to promote collaboration and cooperation with GEMS4 so as to provide access to markets for the production of local products.

    Aregbesola added that no government could create wealth where there is hunger, poverty and wants, saying his government is committed to raising the people’s living standard of living through wealth creation.

    His words: “A lot of people have been asking how we survive despite the economic challenges. Some people even castigated us for the abnormal revenue we got from the federation.

    “The answer to this is that we made human development the centre of our programmes and policies long before taking over the mantle of leadership.

    “The investment of our people is paying off handsomely. This is what we want to consolidate with the MoU with GEMS 4.

    “We also believe there are still opportunities untapped and unexplored. The MoU will help us explore the opportunities previously unexplored for wealth creation, progress and development.”

    The governor emphasised that wealth creation is the fulcrum of the MoU and the benefits numerous and immeasurable, particularly for the small scale industries.

    GEMS4 Project Director in Nigeria, Mr. David Joiner, said the project will raise the production and earning of the poor in Osun.

    He noted that industries that will benefit from the partnership include the soap making industry, agro-processing industries among others.

    The DFID boss added that the project is aimed at creating and sustaining 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs and increased incomes for 500,000 people in the state.

    “With the signing of this MoU, SMEs will benefit from the project and we believe that employment will be generated for up to 5,000 traditional soap makers in different parts of the state.

    “We are also bringing new technology in goat rearing so that they can have better income and increase as we seek to improve income and employment opportunities within Nigeria’s wholesale and retail sector, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable,” Joiner said.

     

  • Osun okays N797m for councils, others

    OSUN State Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola has approved N797 million take-off grant for the new local council developments areas, area councils and administrative offices.

    The funds also included  stabilisation funds to the existing local governments.

    A statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, gave the breakdown as follows: Fifteen million naira to each of the 31 LCDAs; N9 million to each of the three area councils; N5 million to each of the two administrative offices and N10 million to each of the 30 councils.

    According to the statement, the governor urged the leadership at each strata to realise the objectives of their creation.

  • Thugs beat up Osun indigenes in LAUTECH

    ARMED thugs yesterday allegedly invaded the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), in Ogbomoso, Oyo State and attacked some workers of Osun State origin.

    They allegedly told the workers to leave the institution or lose their lives.

    The thugs, according to an eye witness stormed the Bursar’s office, beat up the security guard on thir bid to attack the Bursar. But they were stopped by the Department of State Service (DSS) officials and policemen invited by the university.

    The policemen escorted the Bursar out of the premises.

    Another eyewitness explained that members of the Osun State House of Assembly Committee on Education visited the institution earlier to address their fellow indigenes following an  appeal for protection.

    The witness said the lawmakers advised the workers to be calm   assuring them of the Osun government’s protection.

    According to him, the lawmakers also advised them to stay away till the two owner-states resolve the crisis.

    His words: “Shortly after the lawmakers left, a major leader of the Ogbomoso Parapo, a socio-cultural union of Ogbomoso indigenes, led a gang of hoodlums to the institution. They first beat up a member of staff whom they believed hails from Osun State because of his surname Osunbade, though he actually hails from Oyo State.

    “From there, they stormed the Bursar’s office. On getting there, the security guard attached to the office prevented them from gaining entry but he was beaten to near pulp. On seeing what was going on outside, the Bursar, who is from Osun State, quickly locked his door from behind. The hoodlums, went to the window to threaten him that they would burn down his office if he refused to open. But as they were planning on what next to do, the DSSS people came. Then, they fled. The security operatives escorted the bursar out of the premises.”

    It was learnt that the bursar and the leaders of the thugs went to make statements at the police station.

    The attack caused pandemonium in the institution; workersran heter-skelter to escape from the touts.

    But Chairman of the institution’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Dr Biodun Olaniran, described the incident as minor. He said some thugs came to attack some ASUU members, adding that the case was reported to the registrar, who has taken appropriate steps.

    The National President of the parapo group, Saka Bello, did not pick his calls nor did he reply the text message seeking  his reaction to the allegation.

    But the National Secretary workers of the Ogbomoso Parapo, Michael Abioye, denied that the group sponsored the thugs. He said staff members of Oyo State origin planned a meeting for today, pointing out that news of the planned meeting caused apprehension in the university. He said no thugs invaded the premises.

    Abioye said the   change of ownership could not be achieved through violence but by peaceful means

    LAUTECH’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Lekan Fadeyi said he could not comment on the incident because he was not around.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Adekunle Ajisebutu, was also not available for comments.

    Ogbomoso indigenes have been campaigning for Oyo State to become sole owner of the  university, which is jointly owned with Osun State. The Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oyewunmi, threw his wight behind the campaign in an advertorial last week.

    They claim that Osun has not  been fulfilling its financial obligations to the university.

    Some members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, mainly from Ogbomoso, also last week presented a motion seeking the removal of Osun State as a co-owner of the institution.

  • Osun and its investment in education

    The epigraph to this piece by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius, speaks appositely to the significance of education in the development of a country. His view correctly implies that investment in education will always yield the highest dividends. If quality investment in education produces the highest dividends, it is incontestable that a country which invests hugely and consistently,and substantially and not symbolically in education cannot become bankrupt. In any case, human beings remain the surest agency of development. If their capacities are purposefully enriched, meaningfully enhanced, and consistently improved, they will creatively initiate workable ideas and contribute considerably in driving the multifarious engines of sustainable socioeconomic development.

    Education, for any society which privileges and prioritises it, becomes the sub-stratum of itsdevelopment which will always set it apart from those that do not invest in education. This is the core lesson that the informative book, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (2012), co-authored by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, persuasively teaches. According to the authors, consistent and hefty investments in education and the necessary infrastructure is one of the reasons that explain why some countries are developed and prosperous while many others come a sad cropper. Access to education facilities contributes greatly in enabling people to move forward and become useful for self and society. No nation whose political and economic institutions are unviable can invest in education and provide motivation for the people to be educated.

    It is against this backdrop that the inspiring efforts of the OgbeniRauf Aregbesola administration in reforming and investing in education in Osun Statecan be appreciated. The conviction of the administration that education holds the key to the realisation of the all-encompassing transformation it envisions for the state informs the undistracted attention it accords educational development right from 2010 when it assumed office. The administration makes education the bedrock of the various policies it has designed and been executing to improve the existential condition of the people of the state.

    The priority the administration gives to the development of education in Osun has inspired many initiatives that have brought marked differences to the grooming of minds there. The blueprint that emerged from the Education Summit the administration organised in the first year of its assumption of office provides useful direction for its drive to reposition education in the state. From huge investments in instructional materialsand teaching aids, crucial changes in curriculums, corrective restructuring of schools into Elementary, Middle, and High in conformity with international best practices in school management, to the construction of mega schools, the administration manfully moves on to ensure that public schools in the state become virile emporiums of sustainable capacity-building. In the last six years, remarkable successes have been recorded and rich lessons distilled from low points.

    What stands out in the administration’s unwavering pursuit of educational development in Osun is the humongous amounts it continues to invest in it. It does not consider any amount too prohibitive if the task is educational development. Like Aristotle, Governor Aregbesola understands that ‘[t[he roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet’. Accordingly, the princely price of investment in education has to be paid for the grand prize of enduring socio-economic development. Nothing can be more important than creating the right environment and emplacing the needed infrastructure for the building of human capacity, the agency and gateway of societal development.

    Clearly, this accounts for why Osun is still able to pluck new fruits of educational infrastructure development even in the face of the disruptive hurricane of cash crunchsweeping furiously across the Nigerian federation. The notable reduction and desultoriness in cash flow have not discouraged Osun from going with its school infrastructural development project. On the first day of September, the state commissioned the Osogbo Government HighSchool in a memorable ceremony witnessed by President Muhammadu Buhari and many other dignitaries.

    Conceived and constructed in line with international standards, the building has the capacity to seat 3,000students; it has 72 classrooms, each capable of sitting 49 students; and is capable of graduating 1,000 students annually.Its other facilities include six offices for study groups, six fully furnished laboratories, 60 toilets (30 apiece for boys and girls), one fully furnished science library, one fully furnished Art Library, one facility manager’s office, one bookshop, one sick bay, one bursar’s office, three furnished principals’ office, three general staff office, one furnished senior principal’s office, one record storage, one security shed/reception.

    More, it has an Olympic-sized football field, a seven-lane sprinting tracks for 100 meters and 400 meters, a pavilion and an outdoor basketball court that doubles as tennis court. It has parking space for 75 cars,and examination hall to sit minimum of 1000 students.This hall has a stage, office space, storage for documents, and 10 toilets for males and femalesrespectively.

    Students of Grades 10-12 (SSS I-III), between ages 15 to 17 years, will be using this school sited on a-10-hectare land. The Aregbesola-led administration has a tidied plan to build 20 mega High Schools across the state and in places where the old, dilapidated buildings that were not healthy for modern-day poultry once stood. The Osogbo Government High Schoolis one of the 11 that have been completed.Of the 100 school buildings planned for the elementary level, 14 have been completed, and 15 of the 50 forthe Middle school have also been finished.

    For Osun State government, the functional education the children of the state must receive has to take place in befitting structures, which have advanced facilities, are conducive for learning, and enhance human dignity. By embarking on these projects, the state government is simply saying the culture of excellence that guide the affairs of standard private schools cannot be impossible for it to attain. The quality, sound education vouchsafed for the children has to take place within modern facilities. What exists in Osun in terms of educational infrastructure development is not symbolism but substance.

    About 12,000 teachers have been added to the already existing pool of teachers across the schools in the state. It is not just about physical infrastructure; the human infrastructural is also seriously taken into cognisance, for no educational system can rise above the quality of the teachers.

    The idea of education for development motivates Osun to prioritise education. Governor Aregbesola underscores this in the address he delivered at the opening of the Osogbo Government High School. In his words, ‘Education for us, therefore, is the path to development. We are 25 years now, but we are looking at the next 25 years and we want to create and determine the next 25 years through education.’

    That education, he adds, is the sort that sees to the full development of the personalities of the learners. ‘The overall aim’, he explains,‘is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society.This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others; he views whatever is acquired to be subsumed in the overall interest of others. He is a man in himself and a man for society.’

    In spite of the financial constraint it has, Osun refuses to give up its walk on the path of educational development. It continues to invest in it because it is persuaded that doing so has many invaluable benefits and not bankruptcy.

     

    • Ademola is of the Features Unit, Bureau of Communications& Strategy, Osun.
  • ‘Osun did not receive ecological fund under PDP’

    ‘Osun did not receive ecological fund under PDP’

    Osun State yesterday described as fallacious, demand by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to justify how the state spent ecological funds in the wake of the flood that affected some parts of the state capital.

    The government said it smacks of total ignorance and mischief for the PDP not to recall how funds such as ecological funds were used to play dirty politics and victimised states under the control of the opposition party.

    The government, through a statement by the Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, said Osun did not get any ecological funds to execute its massive projects, which prevented flood since 2011.

    “Osun did not receive any ecological fund from the PDP Federal Government from November 27, 2010 to May 29, 2015.

    “We have depended on our legitimate revenues from all sources to annually dredge our waterways up till 2015 when revenue decline hindered our efforts,” the Bureau’s statement, signed by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, explained.

    The bureau said despite the dirty politics played by the PDP government at the centre, Osun remained one of the few states that had never experienced any flooding since 2010/2011 till the unfortunate incident of Tuesday, September 13.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday, expressed sympathy with residents of the state capital, Osogbo, who were affected by flood.

    Aregbesola, in a statement by Okanlawon, was quoted as speaking during his tour of the affected areas, which included Okeonitea, Rasco, Fiwasaye and Gbomi.

  • Osun to PDP: you’re hallucinating over Aregbesola’s mega-schools

    Osun to PDP: you’re hallucinating over Aregbesola’s mega-schools

    Osun State has urged the citizenry to dismiss attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to diminish the achievements of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration with last Thursday’s official opening of the Osogbo Government High School.

    The school was inaugurated by President Muhammad Buhari.

    The government said the PDP lacked the capacity to comprehend the administration’s strategies to make education’s quality in Osun State to surpass what any elite school in Nigeria offers.

    Speaking through the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, the government said the allegation from the PDP was “no more than a case of sour grape arising from its shattered expectation that Buhari would not honour the state with his presence to inaugurate the school”.

    It said the Aregbesola administration has a comprehensive strategy towards changing the face of education and bringing it to the same level of what any elite schools in Nigeria can offer.

    The bureau’s statement, signed by its Director, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, urged the citizens to demand from the PDP, which insights it had into the workings of the Osun government’s many strategies to turn around the fortune of education.

    The statement noted that PDP’s claim could only be its own imagination arising from its anti-people orientation that whatever is good, modern, spectacular and qualitative is an exclusive preserve of its own class of elite.

    It added: “We are not like them. This is a case of sour grape on the part of the PPD that wants to disparage the great achievements of the governor.

    “Aregbesola’s mission in education is to democratise it and bring it to the poor, who could possibly never have the opportunity to be educated along children of the affluent in Nigeria.”

    The bureau said so far, no fewer than 50 of its school projects are already open for use, demanding which one has been changed to high-fee paying school.

    “As at today, Osun has completed no fewer than 50 of such mega schools across the state that have already been put to use by Osun pupils without the PDP’s imaginary ‘high fees’.

    “Which one of the schools such as Anthony Udofia Government Elementary School, Salvation Army Government Middle School, Adventist Government High School, Ede, Ansar-ul-Deen Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo or any other school has become a ‘high fee paying’ school since their inauguration?” the statement queried.

    It said the Aregbesola administration’s refusal to be slowed down in its development agenda has remained a source of headache to the opposition, adding that none of the claims of the party against Aregbesola has been found to be reliable or true since the PDP embarked on its mission to destroy Osun State.

  • Osun gains from free school feeding

    The free feeding and health programmes introduced by the Osun State Government to encourage school enrolment  and attendance as well as enhance pupils’ health has not only become a model for the federal and state governments, but also a platform for agricultural development  and food production. SINA FADARE reports.

    At the outset, the primary objectives of the free school feeding programme introduced by the Osun State Government was aimed at increasing school enrolment, encourage attendance as well as enhance pupils’ health in all public primary schools.

    Farmers appear to be the major beneficiaries of the programme, as they embark on massive food production far which there is ready market.

    The programme has also enhanced the income of local farmers; thus reducing poverty level as all goods are sourced locally.

    On weekly basis, no fewer than 40 heads of cattle; 10,000 crates of eggs; 20,000 chickens, over 400 metric tons of fish are needed to feed the pupils.

    About 500 unemployed youths were trained and empowered for mass fish production under Osun Fisheries Out-Growers Production Scheme (OFOPS).

    The scheme supplies well over 400 metric tons of fish regularly for the school feeding, while cultivation of cocoyam through a cocoyam rebirth programme was also encouraged.

    Over 1,000 cocoyam farmers (selected across the nine federal constituencies) were trained and assisted to mass cultivate pink cocoyam for inclusion in the school feeding menu.

    Today, the number has risen to over 15,000, as more women and young adults have taken to farming; cultivating cocoyam, vegetables, tomatoes and melon.The programme, which began in 2006, has become a success story and indeed a reference model for many states and countries as pupils from kindergarten to primary four in public primary schools are fed daily with balanced foods such as fish, meat, vegetables and fruits that are rich in protein.

    The pupils are de-wormed twice a year. A comprehensive menu which, among other things, would help to develop the brain capacities of the growing children in their formative years was drawn up by stakeholders in the education sector. The team argued that a well-fed pupil is likely to be healthy and more attentive in class than those on empty stomach.

    Addressing delegates from all the states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the school feeding programme, Osun State Deputy Governor, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education under whose supervision the school feeding is carried out, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori noted that the programme began in 2006 as one of the 13 pilot states (Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, inclusive).

    She explained that the Aregbesola-led administration extended the beneficiaries of the school feeding programme in 2012 to primary four pupils and rechristened it Osun School Feeding and Health Programme (O-Meals).

    Mrs. Laoye-Tomori maintained that the free meals in public schools has led to sharp increase in enrolment from 155,318 to 194,253 after four weeks of its implementation, saying that currently over 252,000 pupils are being fed while they remain in school until closing time.

    She said: “According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics Report of 2013, Osun State has the highest primary school enrolment rate in the country and the lowest number of children of school age being out of school.”

    Mrs. Laoye-Tomori said that through the programme, the state was able to capture the actual figures of school pupils being fed under the programme which costs the government the sum of N18 million a week.She said a total of 3,007 food vendors were engaged, trained, kitted with uniforms and made to undergo medical screening.

    The vendors, according to her, were given loans to procure cooking utensils and organised into 124 functional co-operative investment and credit societies for effective administrative purposes.

    Mrs. Laoye-Tomori noted that the success of the programme has attracted compliments and accolades from both local and international forums.

    In 2014, the British Parliament invited the Governor Rauf Aregbesola to talk on the implementation of the school feeding programme for which the Parliament praised him.

    She explained that commendation also turned in from government of South Africa which sponsored her visit to the country.

    While praising the delegates for the visit to have a requisite insight into the dynamics of the school feeding programme, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori advised them to sit back and fashion out what will work for their respective states and people.